Ruling – Ability

Madame Masque’s ability is a While Active ability. A While Active ability is one that works regardless of how many of the character’s dice are in the Field Zone. While Active abilities are like a light – it’s either on, or it’s off.

You must have at least one Madame Masque character die in the Field Zone to gain the benefits of her ability. Having more than one will not affect how her ability functions.

While you have a Madame Masque die in the Field Zone, your opponent can’t use any abilities that say ‘When Fielded’. This does not apply to keywords that function like a When Fielded ability. For example:Intimidate acts like a When Fielded ability, but Madame Masque won’t stop it because the character’s ability does not say When Fielded. Reminder text in parentheses is not considered to be the character’s actual ability, only a reminder of how the ability works.

If your opponent has a Madame Masque character die in the Field Zone, and you try to borrow one of their characters (via an ability like the one on Collector: Tanaleer Tivan) with a When Fielded ability, you will not get to use that ability. When you borrow the die, it’s temporarily yours for game effects.

Madame Masque’s ability is not optional. You can’t pick and chose which ability is ignored and which isn’t.

Miscellaneous Card Information

~ Madame Mask is a Mask type character card.
~ She has the Villain affiliation.
~ She has a Max Dice of four.
~ This card is a Uncommon and is #59 of 124.

Opinion

I totally understand the confusion with this card, especially for newer players. I’ve gotten a few questions about her ability vs Keywords as well as the Collector question. Before they ruled on her officially, I was using the Global ruling as a basis for my ruling – which they used as well. When you use a Global on an opponent’s card, it’s not your opponent’s Global when you use it – you are the one using it. Same applies to borrowing character dice.

I’ve heard lots of argument on both sides for using Madame Masque over Wonder Woman: Reflections. There are lots of pros and cons and each player should weigh them individually for their own team and play style. Wonder Woman costs one more to purchase, but she also shuts down When Attacks abilities, like the nasty Bard and Guy Gardner. Wonder Woman has better stats, but does cost one more to field on level three. They’re both Mask characters. Madame Masque is a Villain and there are plenty of anti Villain cards. Wonder Woman has the Justice League affiliation, which really doesn’t matter in Modern Age, but you could loosely build around it in Golden Age.

Personally, I prefer Wonder Woman over Madame Masque, but each player should look at both of them and decide for themselves which they prefer. Madame Masque has her uses. She could be invaluable for a Villain only event!

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For this week’s confusing card of the week article, we’re going to take a look atHeist: Basic Action Cardfrom the Dungeons and Dragons: Tomb of Annihilation set.

Ruling – Using Action Dice

Heist is a Basic Action Card and it’s dice are Basic Action Dice. If an ability or game text refers to an Action Card or an Action Die, then it could affect Heist. Basic Action Dice can be purchased by either player.

There are two main ways to use an action die. The first is when the die is in your Reserve Pool, you use the ability that’s on the card and then place the die Out of Play. The die will never enter the Field Zone. The second is to move the action die from the Reserve Pool to the Field Zone, but those dice can only be fielded if they have the Continuous keyword, they’re considered to be Gear, or the ability tells you to attach that die to another die that’s in the Field Zone.

Action dice can be used during two different steps, but only on our turn. You can use an action die at any time during your Main Step, or after blockers have been assigned during the Attack Step (referred to as the Actions and Globals portion of the Attack Step).

Action dice cannot be used for no effect. This means, if you can’t legally use the ability of the action die, then you can’t use the die and it remains in your Reserve Pool until the end of your turn. If you do not use an action die, it will go into your Used Pile at the end of your turn.

Ruling – Ability

“Target opponent draws 2 dice from their bag. Place one in that opponent’s Prep Area. Roll the other die and place it in your Reserve Pool. At the end of your turn, place the rolled die in your opponent’s Used Pile (regardless of where it is).“

You must be able to target an opponent in order to use Heist. If you can’t target an opponent, you will not be able to use Heist because it won’t have any effect. When you use Heist, you place the die Out of Play from your Reserve Pool. The die never enters the Field Zone.

When you use Heist, you target an opponent and they draw two dice from their dice bag. If they can’t draw two dice, they draw as many as they can and then refill their bag from their Used Pile, and finish drawing until they have drawn two dice. If they don’t have any dice in their Used Pile to refill their bag, then they draw as many as they can.

If your opponent can only draw one die and doesn’t have any dice to refill their bag with, they do not take damage. ‘Bag Burn’ is only something that applies during the Clear and Draw Step. Also, if your opponent can only draw one die you complete the remainder of the Heist ability in the order stated on the card. This means you would place that single die in your opponent’s Prep Area and not roll it.

When your opponent draws the two dice, you choose one and it is placed in their Prep Area. You then roll the second die and place it in your Reserve Pool. You now get to use that die on the face it landed on. If you rolled energy, you can use it normally. If you rolled an action face, you use it as intended. For example: A Continuous action die will stay in the Field Zone, but the Heist ability will place it in your opponent’s Used Pile at the end of your turn. You get to use it for that turn. The same would happen with a character die if you rolled a character face. You could field that character and activate any When Fielded abilities, but it would be placed in your opponent’s Used Pile at the end of your turn.

If you have an ability that would allow you to reroll or manipulate the dice in your Reserve Pool after the Roll and Reroll Step, those abilities can be used on the die that was stolen with Heist. For example: If you have Parallax: Source of Terror, you can spend one energy to reroll the die you stole with Heist. You could not use an ability that affects dice during the Roll and Reroll Step for the stolen die because Heist is used after the Roll and Reroll Step has passed.

Miscellaneous Card Information

~ Heist is a Basic Action Card with no energy type.
~ It does not have an affiliation.
~ Heist has a Neutral Alignment (leaf symbol near the purchase cost).
~ It says Use: 3 instead of Max: 3 because you are required to bring exactly three Basic Action Dice for Heist.
~ This card is a Common and is #7 of 136.

Official Sources

Opinion

This card is definitely about more than just potentially stealing some energy. This card can seriously disrupt the flow of your opponent’s bag and also turn an action or character against them for a brief moment. This could also deny them the opportunity to draw that big nasty they had coming next turn. They do get a prepped die from Heist, but I feel like the risk is worth it.

If you don’t get an action or character, you still come out with at least one energy that you can use to make purchases, field characters, activate Globals, etc. I don’t see a huge downside to this card, other than potentially pulling two really good dice and having to put one in your opponent’s Prep Area for next turn. Thinning their bag of Sidekicks is a downside, but it’s not a huge one. Again, the risk is worth the potential reward as long as you’re cautious when using this die. Don’t use it when they have four Sidekicks in their bag and a lot of characters and actions in their Used Pile. You need to keep track of your opponent’s purchases and where the dice are when you play with Heist.

I don’t see this card as a major competitive card, but it’s great for all levels of casual games, and even competitive-casual. Competitive-casual is a mix of competitive and casual play – like a casual setting were everyone is playing semi-competitive, but they don’t bring out the big nasty dudes (like Cube+Pureblood). You also might see someone with a Shriek or a DWiz, but not both. This type of atmosphere breeds creativity and is definitely more fun for folks that don’t dig the hyper competitive scenes, but they still want to play with some of the competitive cards.

I have not looked at this card since the set released, until it popped up as a question from someone. They asked if they could field a character if the die they stole rolled a character face. It’s a tactic that I didn’t think of when I first read the card, but I love the possibilities this card can bring – as well as the chaos that could ensue! I owe that reader a big thank you!

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For this week’s confusing card of the week article, we’re going to take a look atThor: A God Amongst Menfrom the Marvel The Mighty Thor set.

Ruling – Ability

“While Thor is active, when you would take damage, redirect that damage to Thor.“

Thor’s ability is a While Active ability. A While Active ability is one that works regardless of how many of the character’s dice are in the Field Zone. While Active abilities are like a light – it’s either on, or it’s off.

While you have at least one Thor die in the Field Zone, when you would take damage, you must redirect that damage to Thor. Redirecting damage changes the intended target of the damage to Thor, but it does not change the source of the damage. For example: My opponent uses a Get Thee Hence action die and targets me. I would take one damage, but it is instead redirected to one of my Thor dice instead.

If you have more than one Thor die in the Field Zone and a source would deal more than one damage to you, you would choose one Thor die to redirect that source’s damage to. You can’t split a source’s damage unless an ability or effect specifically tells you that you can.

If there are multiple sources dealing damage to you simultaneously, such as from unblocked attackers, you would redirect all of that damage to your Thor die. If you had multiple Thor dice in the Field Zone, you can choose a different Thor die for a different source. For example: My opponent is attacking me with a Hulk (7A), another Hulk (6A), and a Sidekick (1A). I have two Thor dice in the Field Zone on level one (6D) and level two (8D). I do not block so that all of the attackers would deal damage to me. I now redirect that damage from each source to whichever Thor die I choose for that source’s damage. I redirect the seven damage from one Hulk to the level one Thor die. I redirect the six damage from the other Hulk to my level two Thor die. I then redirect the one damage from the Sidekick to my level one Thor die. Now that I have redirected the damage, it resolves simultaneously. My level one Thor die will take eight damage and be KO’d, and my level two Thor die will take six damage but not be KO’d. I could have redirected all three sources of damage to one Thor die, or redirected the damage to both Thor dice in such a way that they would both be KO’d.

When you redirect damage from an attacker that’s not blocked, it does not become blocked. The attacker is still unblocked and will go Out of Play when the damage is resolved, then to the Used Pile during Clean Up.

Attacking characters that are not blocked will not take damage from Thor because he’s not blocking those characters. The damage is being moved from the player to Thor.

Thor can redirect any type of damage, but he can’t redirect loss of life. Losing life and paying life are not considered damage.

Thor’s ability is not optional. When you take damage – any damage – it is redirected to a Thor die. Thor’s ability would have the word ‘may’ in it if it were optional to use.

Ruling – Global

Thor’s Global is only able to be used once per turn, per Thor card. If you and your opponent both have the same Thor card, you may use each Global once.

To use this Global, you must spend two Bolt energy. You may spend one die showing two Bolts or two dice showing any combination of Bolt and Wild energy. Energy spent for this Global on your turn will go Out of Play. Energy spent for this Global on your opponent’s turn will go to your Used Pile.

Thor’s Global can only target a character die, unless an effect says otherwise. This Global does target, so if an ability prevents a character die from being targeted, you can not target that character die. If there are no legal targets, you can’t use Thor’s Global, because you can’t use a Global for no effect.

Thor’s Global will deal one damage to a target character die. If the character’s defense is one, then the die is KO’d when it’s damaged by this Global.

This Global can be used by either player during the Main Step or during the Actions and Globals portion of the Attack Step.

Miscellaneous Card Information

~ Thor is a Bolt type character card.
~ He has the Avengers affiliation.
~ He has a Max Dice of four.
~ This card is an Uncommon and is #87 of 136.

Official Sources

Relevant Rulebook Text on Redirecting:“Other powers redirect a game effect (usually damage). When an effect is redirected, the target of the effect changes from its originaltarget to the new one as described in the game text…”

Opinion

This is a whopper of character and I thought he’d be a great feature this week since I’ve seen some discussion about him recently. His Global is a little lack luster when compared to other Globals that deal direct damage to characters, because his has a ‘once per turn’ limitation and it cost two Bolt energy. Unstable Canister outshines his Global, so it’s safe to say that we won’t be seeing him on teams for that reason – unless he’s the only option for that type of Global.

But that ability of his is just silly. His ability is like a supercharged Ronin: Between Employers. Ronin can only redirect one source per turn, but he is much cheaper at a cost of three versus Thor’s seven. Thor’s purchase cost is appropriate for his ability, but it’s still a little expensive for competitive play. If you have a way to effectively ramp up to seven energy to buy Thor, I would have to wonder why you’re buying him and not a win condition. If you’re playing casual settings, you may see some folks playing this card. I highly doubt we’ll be seeing him outside of the casual scene, even though he’s got an ability worthy of a Norse God.

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For this week’s confusing card of the week article, we’re going to take a look at The Hellfire Club: Members Only from the Marvel X-Men First Class set.

Ruling – Ability

“If you control the character die with the highest A, KO all other character dice“

The die for this card is a non-basic action die. Any card that references an action die could affect this die. When you use this die on your turn, it goes Out of Play until the Clean Up Step.

“Character dice” refer to the individual character dice and not the character card. For example: I have two Wolverine dice in the Field Zone, one with an attack of six and the other with an attack of two. When I use the Hellfire Club die, it will look at both of my Wolverine dice as separate character dice.

You can only use this die if you have a character die with the highest attack in the Field Zone. If you do not have a character die that has the highest attack, you will not be able to use this die because it will not have an effect.

If you have multiple character dice that are tied for the highest attack, you can still use the Hellfire Club, but you may only keep one of those dice and KO the rest. For example: If I have two Wolverine dice and Batman die in the Field Zone, all tied for the highest attack, I must choose one of them to remain in the Field Zone and KO the rest.

Miscellaneous Card Information

~ Hellfire Club is a Fist type non-basic action card.
~ It has no affiliation.
~ It has a Max Dice of four.
~ This card is an Uncommon and is #77 of 124.

Official Sources

Opinion

I have been trying desperately to get this card to work with Jessica Jones: Ladies’ Night. I’m not sure I’ll be able to get that team running as smooth as I’d like, but it’s definitely a fun team to play on a casual night. The Hellfire Club is devastating when your opponent is trying to keep characters active and it’s amazing to see it go off – when it works. There are plenty of great characters that have a high printed attack that are easy to purchase. I think the Hellfire Club is perfect for casual players that want to find a way around some of those pesky characters like Blob and Shriek. Those characters have low attack stats and they can be easily KO’d with Hellfire Club to allow your team some breathing room.

While I’ve been trying to work this team into a meta build, I don’t believe that it’s possible. I think my Jessica Jones team is still too slow and too vulnerable for it to be effective in any kind of major competitive play. I still would like to see this card find its way onto a competitive team because I believe it has potential. But if it doesn’t, it’s still an awesome card for casual play!

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For this week’s confusing card of the week article, we’re going to take a look atPoison Dart Trap: Lesser Trapfrom the Dungeons and Dragons: Tomb of Annihilation set.

Ruling – Ability

“Trap (Place in your Field Zone when used. Send to your Used Pile when triggered.)Trigger: Your opponent would roll 2 or more of the same non-NPC character die at the same time.Effect: Before the roll occurs, place one of those character dice into your opponent’s Used Pile.”

“Traps: Traps are action dice that move to the Field Zone when used, and stay there until Triggered. When the criteria of the Trap die’s Trigger is met, you must immediately send the die to your Used Pile and use its Effect.”

Using this die places it into the Field Zone. It will only leave the Field Zone if its effect is triggered or another card ability removes an action die.

Poison Dart Trap is a non-basic action die. Anything that affects action dice could affect this die. If the effect says ‘Basic Action’, it would not apply to Poison Dart Trap.

When the ability is triggered, you must send the trap to the Used Pile. This is not an optional ability. When a trap is triggered, it will grant you its effect.

The term non-NPC means non-Sidekick. NPC is the wording on Dungeons and Dragons cards that means Sidekick. This applies to Ally characters, which are considered Sidekicks while in the Field Zone.

Poison Dart Trap’s trigger is when your opponent would roll two or more of the same character dice, that aren’t Sidekicks. For example, I have an active Poison Dart Trap and my opponent is about roll three Guy Gardner dice. Poison Dart Trap triggers and goes to the Used Pile. I get to choose one of the Guy Gardner dice and it goes to their Used Pile. My opponent gets to roll the other two.

Miscellaneous Card Information

~ Poison Dart Trap is a Bolt type non-basic action card.
~ It has no affiliation, but has the Neutral alignment.
~ It has a max dice of four.
~ This card is an Common and is #35 of 136.

Official Sources

You can find the cross IP compatibility wording, here.
You can find more info about specific Keywords on the WizKids Keywords page.

Turn Order Summary Reference

Strategy and Opinion

I like the new Trap keyword, as well as how they clarified when the trap die is actually used. I would like for other abilities, like the one on Cold Gun, to eventually be worded similar to this. That would clarify a lot of confusion over using action die and activating them.

But as for this card’s ability, it’s great against Swarm! You would be able to reduce the number of dice they roll by one, which could be a big deal. Outside of drafting, I’m not sure how much play this card will see. If Swarm characters are a pain and someone has room, they could add this card to see if it helps. It’s not expensive with a cost of three and it only needs to be in the Field Zone.

I’m don’t think this card will see major meta play, but some casual scenes probably will – especially if Swarm is big. This card could be useful in drafts as well, but only if players are drafting multiple copies of a character and using three or four of that character’s dice.

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For this week’s confusing card of the week article, we’re going to take a look at Jubilee: A Real Firecracker from the Marvel X-Men First Class set.

Ruling – Ability

“When an opposing character die is KO’d, spin this character up 1 level.”

When an opposing character die is KO’d, each active Jubilee die on your side will spin up one level. Dice that are removed, swapped, sacrificed, etc. are not considered KO’d. The card ability must say that the die is KO’d. For example, Lethal Blow: Basic Action Card says, “Move target level 1 character die from the Field Zone to the Prep Area.” This is not the same as KO’ing that die and will not allow Jubilee to spin up a level.

The opposing character die can be KO’d by combat damage from blocking or being blocked and Jubilee will spin up a level. You can KO an opposing character with non-combat damage and it will allow Jubilee to spin up a level. For example, the Global on Unstable Canister: Basic Action Card says, “Pay [BOLT]. Deal 1 damage to target character die.” If you use that Global to deal enough damage to KO an opposing character die, Jubilee will spin up a level.

And example of a card ability that KO’s a character die without dealing damage can be found on Smash!: Basic Action Card. It says, “Knock out a target level 1 character.“ This type of ability would allow Jubilee to spin up a level.

This ability is not optional. Each time an opposing character die is KO’d, all active Jubilee dice on your side will spin up one level.

Ruling – Awaken Keyword

Awaken Keyword Definition:“When a die with Awaken spins up 1 or more levels, you may use its Awaken effect. You get to use the effect for each individual die that spins up, so if you have two copies of the same die active and they both spin up, you will get two instances of the effect.”

Jubilee’s Awaken:“Deal 1 damage to target opponent.”

Each instance that Jubilee would spin up one or more levels, you will get to use her Awaken effect. Each of her dice that spin up will deal one damage to your opponent.

If Jubilee is level one and an effect spins her up to level three, she will only deal one damage. For example, With Great Power…: Basic Action Card says, “Spin all of your character dice up 1 level. [BURST][BURST] Instead spin all of your character dice to level 3.” If you use a With Great Power action die that’s showing a double burst face to spin Jubilee from level one to level three, she will only deal one damage and not two damage.

If Jubilee is level one and an effect spins her up to level two, she deals one damage. In the same turn, if an effect spins her from level two to level three in a separate instance, she deals one damage to your opponent again. For example, Giganta: Standing Tall has a Global ability that says, “Pay [FIST]. Spin target character die up 1 level.” If you use that Global to spin Jubilee from level one to level two, she deals one damage to your opponent. If you use the Global a second time in the same turn to spin Jubilee from level two to level three, she deals one damage to your opponent.

Miscellaneous Card Information

~ Jubilee is a Bolt type character card.
~ She has the X-Men affiliation.
~ She has a max dice of four.
~ This card is an Uncommon and is #57 of 124.

Official Sources

Page 11 of the Superman Wonder Woman Rulebook has the most up to date info on the progression through the Attack Step.

You can find the cross IP compatibility wording, here.
You can find more info about specific Keywords on the WizKids Keywords page.

Turn Order Summary Reference

Strategy and Opinion

I can’t wait to play with this card! I really love building and playing around combo cards and this card screams “Combo!” I really love cards that have a built in function for a keyword or other ability, just like Jubilee! She has her own spin trigger that can be easily used with a variety of cards. This makes her Awaken ability really good for various levels of play. She’s got a great purchase cost of two energy and her level one and two fielding costs are good. Her level three fielding cost isn’t horrible, but two is pricey if you’re trying to use that energy for other things. Her defense tops out at three which can be a problem against the uncommon and rare Cold Guns. She’s a great addition for teams that need a way to deal damage early game. I think she’s going to be a super powerful card in drafts because of Unstable Canister and Magic Missile. I think this is a great card for players of all skill levels as well.

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For this week’s confusing card of the week article, we’re going to take a look at Elektra: Way of the Stick from the Marvel Deadpool set.

Ruling – Ability

Elektra has a While Active ability. A While Active ability is one that works regardless of how many of the character’s dice are in the Field Zone. While Active abilities are like a light – it’s either on, or it’s off.

Elektra’s ability says that while she active, all of your character dice that have a purchase cost of two or less cannot be the target of either player’s Global abilities. This means your opponent can’t target your characters with a purchase cost of two or less with a Global, but you can’t target those characters with a Global either.

Elektra’s ability references the printed purchase cost on a character card. If you use a cost reducer to reduce the cost of a character to two or less, her ability will not apply to that character.

Elektra’s ability will also include Sidekicks. Sidekicks are character dice while in the Field Zone, and they have a purchase cost of zero. Since Elektra blocks Globals for character dice with a purchase cost of two or less, this would include your Sidekick dice.

If Elektra’s ability text is blanked or becomes ignored, the character dice under her protection would be vulnerable to Global abilities once again.

Global abilities that do not target can still be applied to the character dice that Elektra is protecting.

Miscellaneous Card Information

~ Elektra is a Mask type character card.
~ She has the Thunderbolts affiliation.
~ She has a max dice of four.
~ This card is a Rare and is #92 of 124.

Official Sources

Basic Information

Opinion and Strategy

Part of me is always surprised when folks ask about this card. But then the other part of me is not surprised. The rulebook is a great resource to help you start the game, but it doesn’t explain everything and WORF is becoming increasingly difficult to navigate and locate specific rulings. One of those rulings is an older one about the Sidekick dice and their purchase cost being zero, which I can’t find now. I also can’t find it anywhere in the rulebook. Basic information shouldn’t be this difficult for newer players to find. Page 6 and 7 is where most of the Sidekick info can be found, but there is no mention in this section about a Sidekick’s level or purchase cost. On page 24, it briefly mentions that Sidekicks only have one level, but that’s something that should be in the basic information about Sidekicks – not tucked away under the Levels and Spinning section. And since that information is relevant to that section, it should be mentioned there too, but not as the only reference.

But this is the reason that I continue to write these articles. I want to help new players understand card abilities that may be confusing. But I don’t feel like I’m up to writing a comprehensive rules document as most folks would probably disregard it anyway since it wouldn’t be an official document.

Opinions on this card? Leave a comment!
Is there a card your confused on? Is there a combo that seems too good to be true? Leave me a comment here or message me on Facebook at Dice Dice Kitty and thanks for reading!

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Greetings Fellow Dice Fans!

For this week’s confusing card of the week article, we’re going to take a look at Jervis Tetch: Malice in Wonderland from the DC Batman set.

Ruling – Ability

Jervis’s ability is a When Attacks ability. His ability will trigger for each of his dice that attack.

When Jervis attacks, you gain control of a target opposing character die with a purchase cost of four or less. That character die is required to attack, if they’re able, on this same turn.

When a Jervis die attacks, you can target any character die with a purchase cost of four or less, which includes basic Sidekick dice. Basic Sidekick dice are considered level one characters with a purchase cost of zero while they are in the Field Zone.

The targeted die is then moved into the Attack Zone with Jervis to show that both of the dice are attacking.

When the control of the die ends at the end of turn or when the controlling die is KO’d, you must return the controlled die to the area you took it from. You can use an ability like the Global on Blink – Transmutation(during the Attack Step) to move a Jervis die back to your Field Zone and the controlled die will still be attacking.

If the controlled die would be placed in your Used Pile or Prep Area, it goes to your opponent’s Prep Area instead.

If you control a die that is the same die of a character on your team, the controlled die will reference your opponent’s character card.

Normally, a controlling die cannot attack but because Jervis is required to attack in order to control a die, he is an exception.

Jervis’s ability is not optional. You must take control of a character die with a purchase cost of four or less when you attack with Jervis (if there is a legal target). That die is also assigned to attack, which is not optional.

Miscellaneous Card Information

~ Jervis Tetch is a Shield type character card.
~ He has the Villain affiliation.
~ He has a max dice of four.
~ This card is a Rare and is #99 of 124.

Examples

These examples are for information purposes only, to show what would happen in certain scenarios. I am not suggesting that these examples are the best outcomes for each scenario and each example only features relevant parts of the turn, not the entire turn.

Example One:
Attacking with multiple Jervis dice.

Game State~ I have two level two Jervis Tetch (2A/1D) dice in the Field Zone.
~ My opponent has a level three Red Hood: Jason Todd(5A/5D) die and a Sidekick die in the Field Zone.
~ The turn is moving into the Attack Step.(Attack Step – Assign Attackers)
~ I assign both of my Jervis dice to attack, moving both of them into the Attack Zone.
~ Both of their abilities are triggered simultaneously when they attack.
~ The first Jervis die will gain control over my opponent’s Sidekick die, moving it to the Attack Zone on my side.
~ The second Jervis die will gain control over my opponent’s Red Hood die, moving it to the Attack Zone on my side.(Attack Step – Assign Blockers)
~ My opponent does not have any characters to assign as blockers.(Attack Step – Actions and Globals)
~ I choose not to use any Actions or Globals. (This would be the moment that I could use the Global on Blink – Transmutation to push my Jervis back to my Field Zone and not lose control over the controlled dice.)
~ My opponent does not use any Globals.(Attack Step – Assign and Resolve Damage)
~ Since none of the characters were blocked, they will all deal their attack value in combat damage to my opponent’s life total. Red Hood is going to deal 5, each Jervis will deal 2 each, and the Sidekick will deal 1 – for a total of 10 damage.
~ As soon as the character dice damage my opponent, they move Out of Play.(Clean Up Step)
~ Character dice that were KO’d by combat damage during the Attack Step are now placed in the Prep Area.
~ Characters blocked, but not KO’d are removed from the Attack Zone, but stay in the Field Zone. The Attack Zone is part of the Field Zone, but only attacking and blocking characters can be in the Attack Zone.
~ Dice that are Out of Play will move into the Used Pile.My opponent’s Red Hood and Sidekick die will go to my opponent’s Prep Area instead of the Used Pile.
~ All effects end unless otherwise specified (like a While Active or ‘End of Turn’ ability).
~ All damage is cleared.
~ End of turn abilities will resolve.
~ My turn is now over and my opponent’s turn will begin.

Official Sources

WizKids Official Rules Forum (WORF)
I have a pending question with WORF in regards to the Jervis Tetch cards. There are no official rulings at the time this article was written. I will update with red text when I see an official ruling.

Basic Information

Opinion and Strategy

I really don’t like the wording on any of the Jervis cards. And until there is an official ruling, my ruling is how we will be playing it locally. I wanted to wait for the official ruling before doing a CCW on any Jervis, but I’ve been getting several requests and questions about him. This prompted me to sit down and really pour over rulebooks and WORF posts in an effort to decipher how this obscenely confusing card is supposed to work.

If/when WORF gives us a ruling, I will most definitely update this article, or post a corrected article if need be. I’ve never claimed to be an expert and if you have a different way you think he should be handled, I’m totally up for discussion!

As far as the ability, it can devastating, for sure. He can easily remove parts of that wall to allow for some damage to get through, or take all their characters from the field and smack them with them. I would not use Blink or Distraction Globals because that could hinder your overall goal if your opponent uses those Globals to push their stolen characters back so they get them back.

I think this guy has potential in drafts for sure, but because there isn’t a solid ruling from WORF on him, I’m not planning on testing him in Modern Age or Golden Age.

Opinions on this card? Leave a comment!
Is there a card your confused on? Is there a combo that seems too good to be true? Leave me a comment here or message me on Facebook at Dice Dice Kitty and thanks for reading!

Greetings Fellow Dice Fans!

For this week’s confusing card of the week article, we’re going to take a look at The Question: Find the Answers from the DC Batman set.

Ruling – Gadgeteer Keyword

From the WizKids Keywords page:

Gadgeteer: When a character die with Gadgeteer attacks, you may roll a gear die or an action die with the Continuous keyword in your Used Pile. If you roll a non-energy face, you may move it unto your Field Zone. Otherwise, return it to your Used Pile.

I think there is a typo in on the WizKids Keywords page. Where it says ‘you may move it unto your Field Zone’, I think it’s supposed to say into and not unto. But I’m certain we all know what they mean.

Gadgeteer is a new Keyword in the Batman set. This ability only works when the character with Gadgeteer attacks and only if you have a Gear or Continuous action die in your Used Pile. Gear dice will have the Equip Keyword on their card.

You cannot use the Gadgeteer ability for a non-Continuous action die.

When your Gadgeteer character attacks, you get to choose a qualifying action die from your Used Pile and roll it. It can be a Basic Action die or a Non-Basic Action die, so long as it’s Gear or has the Continuous keyword.

After you roll the action die, if it shows an Action face (non-energy face), you get to move it into your Field Zone. Moving a die is not the same as using it, much like moving a character die is not the same as fielding it. If it shows an energy face, you must return it to the Used Pile. The image below shows where you can find the different faces on the Die Face Reference part of the card.

This ability is optional and not mandatory because it uses ‘may’ in the text. If your Gadgeteer character attacks and you have a Continuous die in your Used Pile, you are not required to use the Gadgeteer ability. If you forget to use it and the Attack Step has moved into the Assign Blockers portion, you have missed your opportunity to use Gadgeteer.

Ruling – Ability

The Question’s other ability works like a While Active ability even though it doesn’t say While Active. A While Active ability is one that works regardless of how many of the character’s dice are in the Field Zone. While Active abilities are like a light – it’s either on, or it’s off.

Whenever you use an action die, The Question gains +1A and +1D until the end of the turn. You can use multiple action dice on the same turn and his ability will trigger for each one.

What is considered ‘using’ an Action Die?
~ When you have a non-Continuous action die showing an action face in your Reserve Pool and you use it for it’s effect, moving it Out of Play, that is considered using it.
~ When you have a Continuous action die showing an action face in your Reserve Pool, using it means putting it into the Field Zone. When you activate a Continuous action die for it’s effect, that is not the same as using the action die because the die was used by fielding it.
~ Abilities that say ‘use an action die’ or ‘use the effect of an action die’ are all considered to be using an action die.

Miscellaneous Card Information

~ The Question is a Mask type character card.
~ He has the Justice League affiliation.
~ He has a max dice of four.
~ This card is a Uncommon and is #75 of 124.

Examples

These examples are for information purposes only, to show what would happen in certain scenarios. I am not suggesting that these examples are the best outcomes for each scenario and each example only features relevant parts of the turn, not the entire turn.

Example One:
Gadgeteer and Using Action Dice.

Game State~ I have one level three Question (2A/4D) die in the Field Zone. I also have two Kryptonite: Green Death dice, one Unstable Canister die, and one Captain Cold’s Cold Gun: Frozen “Firearm” die, all showing action faces, in my Reserve Pool.
~ My opponent has two Sidekick die in the Field Zone.
~ It is currently during my Main Step.(Main Step)~ I use one of my Kryptonite dice, moving it Out of Play, and target one of my opponent’s Sidekick dice. The Question’s ability triggers and he gains +1A and +1D.
~ I use my other Kryptonite die, moving it Out of Play, and target my opponent’s Sidekick die again. The Question’s ability triggers and he gains +1A and +1D, which brings his total to +2A and +2D.
~ I use my Unstable Canister die, moving it Out of Play, and target that same Sidekick die which KO’s it. The Question’s ability triggers and he gains +1A and +1D, which brings his total to +3A and +3D.
~ I use my Cold Gun die, moving it to the Field Zone. The Question’s ability triggers and he gains +1A and +1D, which brings his total to +4A and +4D.
~ I activate my Cold Gun die, moving it Out of Play, to target my opponent’s second Sidekick die which KO’s it. This does not trigger Question’s ability.(Attack Step – Assign Attackers)
~ I assign my Question (6A/8D) to attack, moving him to the Attack Zone.
~ The Question’s Gadgeteer ability triggers when he attacks and I check my Used Pile for Continuous action dice. I have one Turtle Van and one Bat-Signal die in my Used Pile and I choose the Turtle Van Basic Action and roll it. It lands on an Action face and I move it into my Field Zone.(Attack Step – Assign Blockers)
~ My opponent does not have any blockers to assign.(Attack Step – Actions and Globals)~ I do not use any Action Dice or Globals.
~ My opponent does not use any Globals.(Attack Step – Assign and Resolve Damage)
~ The Question assigns all six of his attack to my opponent and my opponent loses six life. The Question die is immediately moved Out of Play because he attacked and was not blocked.(Clean Up Step)
~ Character dice that were KO’d by combat damage during the Attack Step are now placed in the Prep Area.
~ Characters blocked, but not KO’d are removed from the Attack Zone, but stay in the Field Zone. The Attack Zone is part of the Field Zone, but only attacking and blocking characters can be in the Attack Zone.
~ All effects end unless otherwise specified (like a While Active or ‘End of Turn’ ability). The Question will lose all of the +1A and +1D bonuses he gained this turn.
~ All damage is cleared.
~ End of turn abilities will resolve.
~ My turn is now over and my opponent’s turn will begin.

Official Sources

WizKids Official Rules Forum (WORF)
You can find a relevant ruling about similar text for using an action die, here.
You can find a relevant ruling about Continuous actions and abilities, here.
You can find a relevant ruling about While Active text being missing from the card, here.

Basic Information

Opinion and Strategy

I like this version of Question better than the other two versions. It’s easy to build up lots of action dice for a single turn with Boomerang or even Scarlet Witch: Hex Bolts from the Doctor Strange Team Pack. Since I love Overcrush so much, using Proton Cannon just makes sense, because his stats can become massive! I love that he has Gadgeteer too, which can help you get your Continuous action die back in play. He’s got a great purchase cost and while his attack stats are not the best, his stats can get a boost and even be swapped with Kal-L’s Global. I think this card is great for casual play and possibly good for a rogue team in Modern Age competitive play too.

Opinions on this card? Leave a comment!
Is there a card your confused on? Is there a combo that seems too good to be true? Leave me a comment here or message me on Facebook at Dice Dice Kitty and thanks for reading!

Greetings Fellow Dice Fans!

For this week’s confusing card of the week article, we’re going to take a look at Captain America: Anti-Reg from the Marvel Civil War Starter set. I wanted to go with a patriotic theme since today is Independence Day here in the US, and what better character to choose than Captain America himself!

Ruling – Resistance Ability

Resistance is a keyword that can be found in the Civil War set. A character with Resistance will grant you some kind of benefit if a character you control was KO’d. These benefits from the different Resistance abilities will vary and the keyword can be found on characters, Basic Actions, and non-Basic Actions.

Any game effect that KO’s a character could trigger a Resistance ability. For example, Fabricate – if you have Captain America active and you Fabricate two characters, you will gain the benefit from his Resistance ability and gain one life at the end of your turn. Another example would be if your opponent used the Unstable Canister Global during your turn to KO one of your Sidekick dice while you have Captain America active.

When you Sacrifice a character die, that is not the same as KO’ing them, which will not trigger a Resistance ability.

If a character with Regenerate is successful in regenerating, you will not gain the Resistance ability. Regenerate is a considered a KO replacement effect.

Captain America’s Resistance ability is a While Active ability. A While Active ability is one that works regardless of how many of the character’s dice are in the Field Zone. While Active abilities are like a light – it’s either on, or it’s off.

Captain America’s Resistance ability says that as long as he’s active at the end of your turn, if a character die you control was KO’d this turn, you gain one life. This ability only checks that the requirements were met and not how many times they were met.

This ability is not optional and you must gain life if the Resistance ability was triggered. You cannot go above 20 life, so if you’re already at 20 life, you will not gain life.

Ruling – Ability

Captain America has a second ability on his card and it is also a While Active ability. At the end of your turn, as long as Captain America is active, you spin each of your Captain America dice up one level.

In the picture above, you can see the sides of the dice as shown on the bottom of Captain America’s card. All character dice levels are displayed in the same place on character cards. The first three images are of the energy faces and do not have levels. The first character face is Level 1, the second character face is Level 2, and the third character face is Level 3. This is the same for all character dice, except for basic Sidekick dice. Basic Sidekick dice don’t have a character card and while they are in the Field Zone, they’re only Level 1.

If an ability instructs you to spin a character die to a different level, always reference the character card to confirm the correct level, then spin that character die accordingly. Basic Sidekick dice do not have multiple levels and they cannot spin to a different level.

This ability is not an optional ability. At the end of your turn, you must spin all of your active Captain America dice up one level from their current level. A level two Captain America die will spin up to level three and a level one die will spin up to level two. Any level three Captain America dice will not be affected by this ability because they are at the maximum level for a character die.

Miscellaneous Card Information

~ Captain America is a Shield type character card.
~ He has the Avengers affiliation.
~ He has a max dice of four.
~ This card is a Common and is #4 of 142.

Examples

These examples are for information purposes only, to show what would happen in certain scenarios. I am not suggesting that these examples are the best outcomes for each scenario and each example only features relevant parts of the turn, not the entire turn.

Example One:
Triggering Captain America’s abilities.

Game State~ I have a level one and a level two Captain America die in the Field Zone. I also have a Sidekick die.
~ My opponent has two Sidekick dice in the Field Zone.
~ My Attack Step has just begun.(Attack Step – Assign Attackers)
~ I assign my Sidekick die and my level one Captain America die to attack, moving them into the Attack Zone.(Attack Step – Assign Blockers)
~ My opponent decides to block with both of their Sidekick dice.
~ My opponent assigns the first Sidekick to block my attacking Sidekick, moving it into the Attack Zone and placing it in front of my attacking Sidekick.
~ My opponent assigns the second Sidekick to block my attacking Captain America die, moving it into the Attack Zone and placing it in front of my attacking Captain America die.(Attack Step – Assign and Resolve Damage)
~ My Sidekick deals one damage to the blocking Sidekick and the blocking Sidekick deals one damage to my Sidekick. Both will be KO’d.
~ My Captain America die deals two damage to the Sidekick die that’s blocking him, and that Sidekick deals one damage to Captain America. Captain America has a defense of four, so that one damage will not KO him. The Sidekick will be KO’d because it only has a defense of one.(Clean Up Step)
~ Character dice that were KO’d by combat damage during the Attack Step are now placed in the Prep Area. My opponents two Sidekick dice go to their Prep Area and my Sidekick goes to my Prep Area.
~ Characters blocked, but not KO’d are removed from the Attack Zone, but stay in the Field Zone. The Attack Zone is part of the Field Zone, but only attacking and blocking characters can be in the Attack Zone.
~ All effects end unless otherwise specified (like a While Active or ‘End of Turn’ ability).
~ All damage is cleared, so Captain America will no longer have the one damage from the Sidekick.
~ End of turn abilities will resolve. Captain America’s Resistance ability will trigger and allow me to gain one life if my life total is below 20 because a character that I control was KO’d this turn. His other ability triggers as well and my level one Captain America die spins up to level two and my level two Captain America die spins up to level three. Since both abilities happen at the same time and I control both abilities, I can choose the order in which they resolve.
~ My turn is now over and my opponent’s turn will begin.

Official Sources

Basic Information

Opinion and Strategy

This is one of my favorite Captain America cards that is currently legal for Modern Age. I love the art, love the die, and really dig the ability on it. There are plenty of ways to KO your Sidekick dice, like a force block Global, Fabricate, or even a burn Global. Captain America is one of those cards that just dares your opponent to Unstable Canister Global your little dudes. When they do and Cap sees it happen, you gain life back! I have yet to really be able to play with this card outside of Limited constructed events that we held for Civil War. I think I may try to add him onto a current Lockout League build I’m working on for Saturday. I don’t think he’s necessarily worthy of a competitive team spot, but I’ve seen much less deserving cards on highly successful teams in the past. I hope someone sees what a gem this guy can be and tries using him. His major downside is that atrocious fielding cost, but at least he’s not really expensive to purchase. A four cost character that just needs to stay in the Field is not a terrible purchase. I think the best place for this Cap to shine is in the casual and Limited areas.

I also want to take a moment to say Happy Independence Day to all my fellow Dice Masters here in the US. I hope that everyone has a safe and fun holiday!

Opinions on this card? Leave a comment!
Is there a card your confused on? Is there a combo that seems too good to be true? Leave me a comment here or message me on Facebook at Dice Dice Kitty and thanks for reading!